Philadelphia 76ers Must Make A Decision On Nerlens Noel

By Justin Rowan | Oct 21, 2016

Feb 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) celebrates with center Jahlil Okafor (8) after a score against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

With a deadline for contract extension looming, the Philadelphia 76ers must address their logjam at the center position.

When you are rebuilding, drafting the best available talent is a logical route to take. You won’t hit on every pick, but you put yourself in the best possible position to acquire meaningful assets. The Philadelphia 76ers took this philosophy to heart under the direction of Sam Hinkie and acquired flawed, talented players that mostly play the same position.

Drafting Nerlens Noel was a smart decision for the Sixers. They were in a position to bring him along slowly and aid him through his rehab. If he were to remain healthy, he would have been the clear first overall pick in the 2013 draft. (Disclaimer: assuming former GM Chris Grant of the Cleveland Cavaliers wasn’t going for Anthony Bennett if Noel was healthy). But the moves that followed drafting Noel put the Sixers in a tough position.

By drafting Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, the Sixers put a lot of their rebuild focus into the center position. Okafor is flawed as a defensive player and rebounder, but possesses a refined offensive game that is way ahead of schedule.

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Embiid is showing some of his brilliance this preseason, but his ability to stay healthy will be a career-long concern. If all three are healthy, it would be impossible to give them each the necessary minutes to capitalize on their development — especially when you factor in power forward minutes will largely go to their other former lottery pick, Dario Saric.

With that in mind, the Sixers will likely need to look into trading one of their centers. Fairly or unfairly, the stock of Okafor appears to be down after his rookie season. The Sixers were 10 points per 100 possessions better last season when Okafor sat. He also had several off court incidents that can cause people to question if he can be a franchise cornerstone.

Embiid is still an unknown commodity in the NBA due to his injury history. At this point, his upside and potential likely far exceeds what his trade market would be.

That leaves Noel as the highest value trade asset out of the three, which is complicated because he is the only one that has established himself as a good NBA player. The Sixers have until Oct. 31 to agree to a contract extension with Noel.

Here’s what Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo told the Philadelphia Inquirer about a possible extension:

"“It’s not really something that we’ve discussed given some of the concerns that I think Nerlens has had right now,” said Colangelo, the team’s president of basketball operations. “There’s been very little, if any, discussion with his agents about any extension scenarios.“But, I’ll just leave it at that.”"

If the Sixers don’t extend Noel, they can still make him a qualifying offer, which would allow them to match any deals Noel signs as a restricted free agent. Keeping Noel would be in the Sixers’ best interest if they want to start winning games. But the decision would mean you’d need to sell low on either Okafor or Embiid.

The issue with Sam Hinkie was that he refused to take a look at the human element of sports. He didn’t take into account players like Noel being upset at a logjam at his position. There was a failure to understand that executing this strategy would mean trading from a position of weakness. T

he red flags were there for the Sixers when it came to Embiid’s health. Despite him being the most talented player in his draft class, selecting him was a huge risk.

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There isn’t an easy solution for this problem. The Sixers must either part with one of their best players, or swallow their pride and sell low on a talented former lottery pick. The lack of willingness for Noel to try and negotiate an extension indicates that they must work to repair that relationship. One way or another, it’s time for the Sixers to make a decision and clean up this mess.